Pigeon Forge Annual Run Through The Hills - Speed Freaks

Camaros Gather From All Over The Country To Compete In The Annual Run Through The Hills Event In Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

September may mark the end of summer and be the bane of schoolchildren across the country, but for those with a penchant for muscle cars in motion it's also when the annual Run Through The Hills event is held. For five years, this cornucopia of driving has pulled in gearheads from hundreds of miles away like some sort of speed junky magnet. Held in and around the picturesque town of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the event has grown and evolved into one of our few "must do" events. Pretty cool since the inaugural event consisted of just 11 cars.

2/33

The deal is pretty simple. The organizers of this event got tired of static car shows where polishing took preference over performance. Maybe they just had an attention deficit disorder or maybe they just figured that the cars we love are much more fun when they are in motion. Whatever the case, the result is an event with something for everyone.

The three-day festival starts out with a cruise. In years past it was limited to a relaxing 60-mile cruise through the rolling hills around Pigeon Forge, but not this year. This time, event organizer, Bill Howell, wanted to step it up a notch. What he came up with was a 120-mile round-trip blitz into the Smoky Mountains. Best of all it would include testing our rides on the infamous "Tail of the Dragon." This 11-mile section of Highway 129 has well over 300 turns and is certainly not for the faint of heart.

Saturday was set for a day of autocrossing, while Sunday was reserved for a crack at the local eighth-mile dragstrip. Sprinkled amongst the driving events were picnics, a people's choice car show, and enough automotive fellowship to make even the most jaded car guy smile.

Since our '68 project car, Bad Penny, was still back east, we had the folks from Bowler Transmission bring it to the event so Steven Rupp and Nick Licata could share driving duties. After all, going stag to a race is even less fun than at prom.

When we started the 120-mile cruise, the weather was great. As we climbed the mountain, and entered the most treacherous part called "The Dragon," the rain started pouring. Still, the cars powered through the winding wet roads. Even our California-equipped '68 (no wipers or heater) made it through no problem.

3/33

The cruise on Friday was a blast, even with the occasional downpour, but we lucked out with good weather on Saturday for the autocross. Sunday was washed out, but that didn't dampen the spirits of the 80-plus car owners that reveled in the first two days of the event. After all, the only thing more fun than polishing a car at a show, is getting one dirty on the road.

MORE PHOTOS

VIEW FULL GALLERY

xclose

Pigeon Forge Annual Run Through The Hills - Speed Freaks

Meet the world-famous "Tail of the Dragon," officially known as Highway 129. There are over 300 turns in the 11-mile stretch of asphalt and, with the exception of 1988, this stretch of tarmac has had fatalities every year since 1995. People come from all over the world to drive this road, so yes, it's that much fun. There are even photo stations set up along the route to catch the corner carving action. Check out killboy.com or us129photos.com. To find our group, search for September 18.

We made sure everyone was bunched together before making our way up the famous Tail of the Dragon.

The prize at the end of the cruise was a tasty BBQ at Keisler Performance's HQ. In addition to the grub, there was a tour of the facilities and a chance to check out all the soggy survivors of the cruise. Even with the rain, we would do it again in a heartbeat.

At the end of the day, the top five cars, all Camaros, were assembled to battle it out for the big prize. Rupp actually came in 5th place (time of 37.844), but gave up his spot to Licata, as two drivers weren't allowed to compete in the same car. That meant that Jason Huber in the Sonoco-themed '69 moved up a slot.

The most anticipated event was the autocross. We must have banked up some good karma since Saturday's weather held and we even got a little sunshine. After a safety talk from Howell, and a walk of the course, the first cars lined up to hit the track.

The most anticipated event was the autocross. We must have banked up some good karma since Saturday's weather held and we even got a little sunshine. After a safety talk from Howell, and a walk of the course, the first cars lined up to hit the track.

Frank Sarafine, of Prodigy Customs, pilots Will and Shanna Blanton's '69 drop-top through, and sometimes over, the autocross cones. If this '69 looks familiar it's because we featured it in the December 2009 issue.

The last time we saw Matt Altamore's '69 was at the Motor State Challenge in Michigan. His '69 is still primered, still a little battered, and still one cool ass ride.

At first glance Bobby Fowler's 69 RS looks more like it belongs in a car show, but looks can be deceiving. His Camaro features an LS2 mill backed up by a six-speed manual and a host of suspension widgets. As Fowler told us, "This was my third time attending this event and I don't plan on ever missing it. I've never had so much fun with my car."

Cover alumnus (July '09) Payton King was again at the event in his super cool yellow '69 RS/SS. Payton first autocrossed his '69 last year and has since become hooked on it.

Last time we saw this stunning two-tone '69 Camaro it was posed at the Columbus Goodguys show, so we were surprised to see it pounding it's way though the cones. We were all set to do a photo shoot on Mr. McGilton's killer Camaro, but late-day rain killed that idea.

Brad Coomer clips a few cones while his passenger hangs on for dear life. Coomer's Camaro rides on a Ridetech air system and features a supercharged small-block under the flat hood.

Another Camaro running primer with pride was Michael Tucker's '68. Tucker thought his Camaro was too ragged to make the magazine, but we're more about cars getting driven and his certainly was.

Another regular attendee of this, and other driving events, is Steve Moore of Rock Hill, South Carolina. But of all the events this is his, and his wife Darlene's, favorite.

Going into one of the course's tighter elements, Chris German experiences a little rear brake lockup. Tire smoke was always welcomed by the crowd, estimated at around 300.

Patrick Branner brought his gorgeous '68 all the way from Maitland, Florida, for the event to celebrate 15 years of marriage to his wife MaryAnne. "I didn't really think she would be into the whole 'car thing' for our anniversary, but she really had a blast," recalled Branner. Rupp stole MaryAnne as a passenger for one of his last laps in Bad Penny, and ended up nailing down his best time of the day. The couple also won Vintage Air's Cool Custom award.

Jim Grayson and Jeff Tate are two guys who prove you don't need to spend a ton of cash to have fun with your Camaro. Each ride was built on a budget and driven as much as possible. Which are attributes we can firmly get behind.

Another sweet Camaro on our "must feature" list is Brad Granger's orange '67. It features a host of upgrades including a supercharged LS engine underhood.

Mark and Holly West brought this clean '68 out to dodge cones at the event. For many of the participants this was their first time doing the orange cone dance, and we're pretty sure every one of them loved it.

Jim Grayson and Jeff Tate are two guys who prove you don't need to spend a ton of cash to have fun with your Camaro. Each ride was built on a budget and driven as much as possible. Which are attributes we can firmly get behind.

Newer cars were also allowed to compete at the event. Here autocross veteran Ryan Jarrard of Knoxville, Tennessee, winds his way between the orange pylons. His '01 SS has a host of upgrades including a modified 6.2L LS3 engine underhood and a tricked-out suspension.

Jake Parrot came to the party in his track-prepped '69. He's not a huge fan of autocrossing, but managed a best run of 37.344 seconds. Unfortunately, he creamed a pylon and got slapped with a one-second penalty. He was also not in the lap time competition since he was running "out of spec" Toyo R888 R-compound rubber.

The top-five cars were ran in reverse order from fifth to first. With everything on the line, the cars were pounded through (and over) the cones with little mercy. Huber ran a 37.864 in the Sonoco Camaro. Not bad considering it still runs on a stock subframe and leaf springs.

Fourth-place qualifier, Brian Finch, brought his freshly finished '71 to the party and flung it around like a man on a mission. His ride features just about every part from the DSE catalog. He managed a best qualifying time of 37.433 seconds. In the run-offs, he bettered that to 36.112, but it wasn't enough to move him up in the standings.

In second place, Licata had his work cut out for him in our Bad Penny project car. He was trailing Kyle Tucker, of Detroit Speed, by a hair over a tenth of a second, so he knew he had to go all out for his final runs. After two laps, he became the first car to break into the 35-second territory with 35.771 and 35.776-second runs. This moved him into first place, but could he stay there?

Bret Voelkel's '68 Camaro has been done for a while now, but it wasn't until recently that the team at Ridetech really sorted the car out. Their efforts paid off since the Camaro, known as Velocity, simply tore up the track, proving that air-sprung cars can carve corners with the best of them. Voelkel improved his qualifying time of 37.123 to a third place retaining time of 36.042 seconds.

As the number one qualifier, with a best lap of 36.422, Tucker had been leading the pack all day, and as he lined up for his last runs, the crowd went quiet. On his first lap he became the second car to get into the 35s with a 35.841-second run, but Tucker clipped a cone on his second lap, giving Licata the win. One certainly couldn't have asked for a more exciting end to a day of friendly competition!

Another sweet ride that made our list of cars we need to feature was Terry Neuville's red and silver '68. Terry had just finished the Camaro back in mid August, but was confident enough to drive it on the 1,760-mile round-trip journey from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. "This was our first time at the RTTH and by far it's the best event we've ever done. It was also my first time autocrossing, now I am hooked on both," remarked Terry.

Ron Schwarz was guaranteed the hard luck award when he scattered his Mustang's engine all over the autocross course. Before you all start crackin' wise about a broken Ford, just know that it was running a GM LS1 underhood. Turns out, the carnage was caused by a failed rod bolt.

Ron Schwarz was guaranteed the hard luck award when he scattered his Mustang's engine all over the autocross course. Before you all start crackin' wise about a broken Ford, just know that it was running a GM LS1 underhood. Turns out, the carnage was caused by a failed rod bolt.

Howell awards Licata his hard-fought award. In addition, Licata also picked up a set of BFG tires sponsored by Ridetech. We were all looking forward to the drag racing action on Sunday, but our luck ran out when the sky opened up a few hours later, in turn, ending the weekend. With no more performance events to run, the autocross and people's choice car show determined the winner of the King of the Hill award. Licata was removed from the running due to a technicality, so the award went to fourth-place autocross winner Finch and his sweet second-gen Camaro!

COMMENTS

related articles

Tired of sitting around in lawn chairs at car show events and want to get your heart pounding and adrenaline rush going, then the Run Through the Hills car show event is just what Camaro enthusiasts are looking for - Camaro Performers Magazine » Read More